Test Automation Suite for Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Part 1

The Test Automation Suite

As you may already know, with V8.1 of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations we now have a Test Automation Suite (TAS) that allows an administrator to define and orchestrate automated testing.

However, the TAS is not a standalone tool. It works in conjunction with Azure DevOps and the Business Process Modeler (BPM) in Lifecycle Services (LCS). The three individual tools are integrated and play the following roles:

• BPM: The BPM holds the process model that contains the task recordings that are used in the test plan. For more information on how to create task recordings, please see this blog post.
• Azure DevOps: Azure DevOps is where you configure the test plan and follow-up on the test status.
• TAS: In the TAS you are able to load test plan data from Azure DevOps, configure the automated test and run it.

In this blog post we will be looking at how to configure the three tools to allow synchronisation and testing. In part 2 of this small series, we will look more closely at how to perform the actual test.

Setting up the Business Process Modeler

The first step to get things going is to configure the BPM and its integration with Azure DevOps.

LCS Project Settings

To start with, you need to configure the integration between LCS and Azure DevOps. This article explain how to set this up. As the following screenshot shows, I have connected my LCS project with Azure DevOps.

As you can also see from the screenshot, LCS automatically determines how work item types in LCS are linked to work item types in Azure DevOps.

With this working, the next step is to set up a process model.

You can obviously use an existing process model in BPM to synchronise with Azure DevOps, but in my example, I have created a new model called “Test Case Library”.

Please note that you need to use the new BPM experience in LCS to get access to this view.

Azure DevOps Test Plan

Assuming you have already managed to set up a project in Azure DevOps, it is now time to create a test plan.

As the above screenshot shows, all you need to do initially is to create a test plan. Unless you have specifically designed a test process with multiple iterations, you can use the defaults.

Installing and Configuring the TAS

Now we come to the most difficult part of the process. Now, you need to install the TAS on the machine where you intend to execute the automated test. I my case, I am using a sandbox environment, so I use RDP to access the virtual machine (VM).

The installation download and instructions are available here.

Follow the instructions closely and everything should be fine. However, one thing worth bearing in mind:

If you copy the certificate thumbprint from the certificate tool, please be aware that it contains invisible Unicode characters. I had to copy it into Notepad and then save it as a text file to clean it up.

Configuring the TAS

Once the TAS has installed, it is time to configure your automated test. The above instructions should take you through this, but here are a couple of hints:

• Azure DevOps URL: If you do not remember the URL, you can copy it from your LCS project settings.
• Access Token: This is the token you generated when linking Azure DevOps to LCS.
• Hostame: Simply the URL for your D365FO instance.
• SOAP Hostname: The above hostname, but insert “.soap” between “aos” and “cloudax” in the URL. Example: “https://d365cbd45b49961q2970aos.soap.cloudax.dynamics.com”

With this last bit of configuration, your TAS should be ready to go.

In part 2 of this series, I will use the TAS to load test cases from Azure DevOps and execute an automated test. I will also take a look at how you can add additional test data to the test case to make it more comprehensive. Lastly, we will look at how the test results can be analysed in Azure DevOps.

In part 3, I expect to take a look at how we can chain test cases together and pass variables between them.

I would like to say a BIG thank you to Palle Agermark, who has helped me through a couple of sticky point in the installation process. Thanks, Palle, you have been a great help – as always.